Scouting Report: Tall righty with projectable body. Easy delivery. Fastball sits 93-95 mph and tops out at 96. Shows excellent downward finish in lower tier of strike zone, but tends to flatten out when elevated. Ball comes out of his hand fluidly. Works fastball to both sides of the plate. Solid-average fastball command. Also throws a high-70s curveball with tight rotation and deep break. Feels offering well to create hard snap. Can hold onto ball too long when throwing curve, but grades as a plus pitch. Needs to finish more centered with body for consistent command of offering. Average command. Future swing and miss out-pitch at the major league level. 86-87 mph changeup presently grades as fringe-average-to-average. Shows arm-side fade, but needs to create more deception and consistency when throwing it. Arm speed varies from fastball. Potential to become a solid-average-to-better offering. Repeatable and loose mechanics. Downhill thrower who generates easy velocity. Can get off balance during delivery, which affects release point and command. Lands too far open towards first base at times. Second or third starter projection on a first division team.

Matt Barnes said he began his first Minor League outing Sunday afternoon with one mantra in mind: The mound doesn't change from college to pro ball. The mound stays the same.

Barnes -- a 2011 first-round Draft pick and the Red Sox's No. 13 prospect -- struck out nine batters over five innings in his pro debut Sunday as the Class A Greenville Drive stymied the Lakewood BlueClaws, 4-0, at Fluor Field.

"I just wanted to give my team a chance to win and do what I've done the last couple of years," the former University of Connecticut standout said. "Though we don't really get too many fans at UConn. I was pretty excited for this start ever since I signed."

Barnes, selected 19th overall last June, fanned at least one batter in each of his five frames. He gave up singles to Carlos Perdomo and Aaron Altherr and issued a pair of walks.

Lessons learned?

"When I was in the fourth inning, I tried to do too much," said Schumer, who followed Altherr's hit in the fourth by walking Christopher Duffy. "I need to let my stuff take care of it, don't get too over-amped."

The 21-year-old right-hander credited the strikeouts to his fastball. He said his coaches and father, who was in attendance, told him the pitch ranged between 94-97 mph. http://greenville.dr...&vkey=news_milb

I imagine Barnes will breeze through Greenville and earn a promotion relatively quickly. He probably won't be challenged all that much before getting to AA, but that eventual jump could take some adjustment before he starts looking good there.

Let's be clear about something: as an advanced pitcher who was a first-round pick out of a very good college program, Matt Barnes should be dominating Low-A hitters. He doesn't belong at this level, but that's out of his control and he's doing his best to get out of there: he has struck out 16 over ten shutout innings in his first two starts of the year, including seven over five one-hit innings on Friday. He's missing plenty of bats with a fastball that has been up to 97 mph in both starts, and while his curveball and changeup will be tested more at High-A Salem, he's seemingly ready for that challenge.

The 19th overall selection in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, right-handed pitcher Matt Barnes wasted little time in beginning his professional career down the right path. The 21-year-old dominated opposing batters during the first week of the 2012 season, en route to being named the South Atlantic League's Pitcher of the Week for April 5th thru 15th....Additional Notes: Barnes is the 5th pitcher in Drive franchise history to be selected as the South Atlantic League's Pitcher of the Week - Brock Huntzinger (7/27-8/3/2009), Cesar Cabral (4/26-5/3/2010), Manuel Rivera (4/25-5/2/2011) and Anthony Ranaudo (5/2-5/9/2011)

Wish they'd just started him at Salem. Seriously, a first round draft pick with that sort of college pedigree? That's beyond coddling, it's the same level they start Owens - who's three years younger.

I don't know if it really matters. If he spends half this season in Greenville and half in Salem and continues to do well, he starts 2013 in Portland where he's in a position to maybe be an option in Boston in August or so if he makes the same progress. If they push him more aggressively, maybe in the best-case scenario he's in a position to start 2013 in Pawtucket and maybe he can hit the majors a few weeks earlier. I don't see a huge difference.

As for his pedigree, he's from a cold-weather state and the Big East isn't a terribly strong baseball conference. He also only had one excellent year at UConn. I don't think his pedigree screams "let's put this guy on the super fast-track so he can be in the majors by the end of 2012."

Wish they'd just started him at Salem. Seriously, a first round draft pick with that sort of college pedigree? That's beyond coddling, it's the same level they start Owens - who's three years younger.

Part of the thing is just getting a player acclimated to the professional life, and I suspect that starting someone off at a lower level might make it easier as there probably won't be performance-issues for the player and he can get accustomed to an abrupt change in life-style.

Part of the thing is just getting a player acclimated to the professional life, and I suspect that starting someone off at a lower level might make it easier as there probably won't be performance-issues for the player and he can get accustomed to an abrupt change in life-style.

Yep. Workman and Ranaudo, both of whom had stellar NCAA careers playing against tougher competition, even started in Greenville. Ranaudo made 10 (very good) starts in the Sally last year before getting the call, so they actually moved Barnes quicker -- and some of that decision has to do with other advancement goals that aren't performance related. We just don't know. Remember when Lavarnway, 22 years old at the time, spent 400+ AB's raking in Greenville for the entirety of his first full season in 2009? Nobody understood why he hadn't been called up.

Not much to say. There was no trickery involved. It was high 94 mph heat, as blistering in the sixth inning with Barnes nearing his 90-pitch limit as in the first, when Hudson missed a 96 mph fastball leading off the game. It has been this way for South Atlantic League hitters so far in this baseball season. They have looked as overmatched against Barnes as Big East hitters often did when he pitched for UConn. Seven of the eight professional hitters Barnes struck out in 5 2/3 innings Sunday went down swinging and missing his fastball.

"He keeps throwing like this," said Greenville manager Carlos Febles, "and he's going to be at Fenway in a year or two."

"He's one of the greatest kids I've ever been around," Febles said. "His teammates love him. I look to him for leadership in the clubhouse, and when he's on the mound, he's the leader out there."

More than Barnes' numbers, of course, is how he looks compiling them. His mechanics look smoother now, his control of his pitches near flawless. He did not walk a batter. His fastball velocity hit 94-96 mph consistently on the ballpark radar Sunday, without any sign of overthrowing. The curveball he was mixing in at 72-75 mph was keeping hitters off-balance, but at this level his fastball is his put-away pitch.

"He throws so hard, it's hard to gauge where to load up your swing," said Lakewood outfielder Aaron Altherr, who is hitting .301, but struck out twice against Barnes. "He throws it middle-away a lot, and he spots it. His curveball looks like it's coming at your head, then drops inside corner."

"He seems to be able to handle any situation," said Dick Such, a longtime major league pitching coach who is assigned to Greenville this season. "He's never nervous. He hasn't been tested much here, though."

He’ll get his first start in Salem this week. The Sox were particularly pleased by the progress that the right-hander made in incorporating his changeup. Though his mid-90s fastball and swing-and-miss curveball mitigated the need for a third pitch, the Sox wanted Barnes to work on refining it so that it is a weapon at his disposal as he moves up the ladder. And in that vein, the way in which the right-hander — the team’s first-round pick in 2011 — incorporated it after his first two starts was impressive.

“The last couple outings, the usage has been good, particularly [Sunday]. The reports were he threw several very good ones,” said farm director Ben Crockett. “Once he got the changeup more involved, we felt comfortable with him going to the next level and having the arsenal to handle that effectively, not needing trial and error in a place where he hasn’t pitched yet. Maybe he doesn’t need the changeup in Salem, but if he does, I don’t want him to find that out in his first outing after not having thrown it.”

Crockett described Barnes’ change as a hard change with some sink that has elicited some swings and misses, but that projects as he moves up the ladder to be more of an early contact pitch that elicits mis-hits.

Long story short: author feels very confident in #3 start projection and, with improvements observed since college, thinks chance of reaching #2 ceiling is much greater than before.

Can I ask a stupid question? If he is so electric and his rise since being drafted is very quick, why is his ceiling considered a number 2 SP but more likely a number 3? I guess I'm asking what is he missing that scouts don't believe he can accomplish in order to ever be a number 1 and probably not a number 2.

I've seen people like Kevin Goldstein often mention that they rarely project anyone to be a #1 unless it's an elite, can't miss prospect like Stephen Strasburg. Also that there are only 10 or so pitchers right now that one would consider a #1, so it's a small group.

I don't think they mean he can't ever get there, just that you have to be really, really good. A #2 isn't an insult at all.

I imagine if he dominated AA the same way he's dominating now, there might be some adjustments in projections for his ceiling. I don't think it's terribly likely he'll continue to dominate like this after being promoted, but if he did it would be hard not to consider the possibility of him becoming an ace type pitcher. Long way to go before that's even worth talking about, though.

Matt Barnes lasted one inning in his Double-A debut, allowing two runs and two hits in the first. Jim Murphy lined an RBI single and Tyler Henson followed with a run-scoring triple. Barnes fanned three, walked one and threw 36 pitches (21 strikes). Keith Couch relieved Barnes and pitched four solid innings on five hits and one run.

That's surprising. Considering the issues he's had with control and consistency, I was expecting them to start him in Portland again next season. Especially since we're not exactly hurting for pitching in the upper minors right now.

Barnes got a late start to the season after experiencing soreness in his throwing shoulder during Spring Training. After building up his arm strength in extended spring training he made his season debut for Pawtucket on 4/25 (boxscore, gamelog). He went 5 innings and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits & 2 walks while striking out 2 (both swinging); he worked around two Cecchini errors to minimize damage and also picked a runner off first. Only one of the hits went for extra bases, a double with a runner on first that set up a sac fly and the lone earned run he allowed. He earned the win in Pawtucket’s 6-2 victory over Rochester.

He struggled with his control, throwing just 44 of 81 pitches for strikes (54 percent) and, according to the MiLB.com’s Gameday tracker, he elicited just four swings and misses. Still, he showed good arm strength for his first outing, as Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times reported that Barnes touched 96 mph and sat at 93-94 on the stadium scoreboard.

Barnes made his second start of the season on 5/1 (boxscore, gamelog). He lasted 5 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 (5 swinging). He took a no-hitter into the fifth that was broken up by a leadoff double, the only extra base hit he allowed, who would score the only run Barnes surrendered on a 1-out sac fly. He had better command than in his first start, throwing 52 out of 86 pitches for strikes. He earned a no-decision in Pawtucket’s 3-2 loss to Indianapolis.

Through 2 starts this year, Barnes now sits with a record of 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 8 K, 4 BB with opponents hitting 235/300/294 against him.

Mixed results for Barnes in his last start on 5/6 against Toledo (boxscore, gamelog). He went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits (2 doubles) and 4 walks while striking out 4, all swinging. He also threw a wild pitch. He had a shutout through 5 with just a double and 3 walks allowed, then ran into trouble in the sixth:

Toledo Top of the 6th

· Daniel Fields singles on a fly ball to center fielder Corey Brown.

· Hernan Perez out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Matt Barnes to first baseman Brandon Snyder. Daniel Fields to 2nd.

Barnes had a very strong outing on 5/11 at Louisville (boxscore, gamelog). He lasted 7 innings and allowed 2 runs (both earned) on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3 (2 swinging). Only one of the hits went for extra bases, a 2-out RBI double in the 4th. In fact, all of Louisville’s damage against Barnes came in the 4th:

· Mike Wilson singles on a line drive to left fielder Justin Henry. Thomas Neal out at home on the throw, left fielder Justin Henry to catcher Christian Vazquez.

Outside of that 4th inning, Barnes faced the minimum – the only batter to reach, a 1-out single in the 6th, was immediately caught stealing second. He left the game with the score tied at 2 and did not factor into the decision in Pawtucket’s 3-2 win.

Matt Barneshas emerged as one of the top Red Sox prospects because of his ability to miss bats. No one in the system over the last few years has shown the ability to blow away hitters with his fastball like Barnes.

Yet while that ability has offered the foundation to consider Barnes a very impressive young pitching prospect, the long view of him as a future starter with a mid-rotation ceiling has required a degree of projection for much of the last two years given some of his inefficiencies on the mound. As a pitcher who relies primarily on his fastball, even with his ability to incorporate a solid changeup, the absence of a reliable third pitch (the curveball) has resulted in opponents sitting on his heater and, even when he punches out opponents, driving up his pitch count to the point of shortening his outings. In 2013, while spending almost all of the year in Double-A Portland, he averaged fewer than five innings a start.

That reality made Barnes’ outing on Sunday particularly noteworthy, highlighting an intriguing early indicator of some of his development as a pitcher to start this year. The 23-year-old matched a career-high with seven innings pitched (just the third time in his pro career that he’s recorded more than 18 outs), requiring just 96 pitches (60 strikes, a 62.5 percent rate) to navigate to that point in the contest. In four starts (in which his pitch count has been building after a delayed start to the year due to shoulder tendinitis), he’s logged at least five innings in each, with six- and seven-inning efforts in his last two turns. He has yet to allow more than two runs in any outing, a pattern that continued on Sunday, when he gave up two runs on five hits (four singles and a double) and a walk in his seven innings of work.

<snip>

Ultimately, Barnes’ future as a starter will rely on his ability to combine the ability to miss bats with the efficiency necessary to deliver innings at the big league level. He’s not demonstrating both of those traits now. Still, he’s offered plenty of the former trait and little of the latter in the initial seasons of his pro career. And so, what he’s shown so far in 2014 en route to a 2.35 ERA through four starts suggests a pitcher who may be reaching a pivotal stage in his career progression.

Barnes now has a season line of 23 IP, 15 K, 9 BB, 16 H, 2.35 ERA, .208/.284/.273 opponents’ line.

Mixed results for Barnes in his latest outing on 5/16 (boxscore, gamelog). He only went 5 innings allowing 3 runs (all earned) on 7 hits and a walk. On the plus side he struck out 6 (3 swinging) and threw 62 of his 93 pitches for strikes (66.67%). 2 of the hits went for extra bases – a 1-out double in the 2nd that was stranded and a 1-out, 2-run HR in the 3rd, the first HR Barnes has allowed this year. He left in line for the loss, but took a no-decision as the PawSox rallied to take the lead in the 8th before Drake Britton blew up in the 9th and Indianapolis walked off with a 6-5 win.

2 solid starts from Barnes in the last week to bounce back from his hiccup: a tough luck loss @Norfolk on 6/2 going 6 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 8 H, 6 K, 0 BB and his first win since his season debut at home on 6/7 going 6.2 IP, 2 R (both earned), 7 H, 3 K, 0 BB. He only allowed 2 extra base hits in the two starts (one double per game) and has allowed just 2 BBs in his last 17 innings. Season stats now at 2-4, 48 IP, 40 K, 15 BB, 4.69 ERA, 3.62 FIP, .280/.333/.409 opponent's line.

Barnes made his first relief appearance of the season on 6/15, piggybacking on Felix Doubront's rehab start. Barnes came on in the 6th and pitched 3 shutout innings, allowing just 3 hits (all singles) and a HBP while striking out 2 and walking none. Season stats now at 2-4, 51 IP, 42 K, 15 BB, 4.41 ERA, 3.57 FIP, .278/.332/.399 opponent's line.

Solid bounceback start for Barnes on 6/26, if short. He went 5.2 innings in Pawtucket's 7-3 win over Norfolk, allowing 2 R (both earned) on 5 hits (1 solo HR, 4 singles) and 3 BBs while striking out 5 (all swinging). He hit a season high in pitches (102) and made it 5 straight starts where he's thrown at least 62.5% of his pitches for strikes. Season stats now at 3-5, 61.2 IP, 49 K, 19 BB, 4.52 ERA, 3.69 FIP, .281/.336/.397 opponent's line.

Inconsistency continues to be the story of the season for Barnes as he had another rough outing on 7/2. He lasted just 3.1 innings in Pawtucket's 8-7 loss to Norfolk, allowing 4 R (all earned) on 6 hits (including a 2B, a 3B, and a solo HR) and 3 BBs while striking out 2 and throwing just 46 of his 83 pitches for strikes. Season stats now at 3-6, 65 IP, 74 H, 51 K, 22 BB, 4.85 ERA, 3.94 FIP, .287/.345/.419 opponent's line.